The use of CT for imaging structures within the head and body has revolutionized the diagnosis and care of patients. The high-resolution images obtainable with currently available CT scanners combined with advanced computer image processing methods provide the capability for truly three-dimensional radiography. One of the most important roles played by CT is its use in the emergency room of large city hospitals. In the traumatized patient, CT examination of the head and body can be performed in minutes, providing the emergency room physician with the immediate information needed for proper management of the patient. Unlike any other imaging modality, CT scans provide in a single image all critical aspects of the traumatized patient. Current concepts of medical practice dictate that CT scanners be located in large referral or trauma centers.
Presently, scanners are located in the x-ray department of hospitals and are housed in expensive shielded rooms. There is a need for a scanner that can be used in a hospital without the necessity of an x-ray shielded room whereby the scanner is transportable and can be moved to the patient location.
Regarding another application of CT scanners, experience in recent wars has proved, that the introduction of computerized tomographic technology into military field hospitals will have a measured impact on diagnostic speed and accuracy of diagnoses with subsequent improved care of patient injuries.
Transportable and self-shielded CT equipment has the potential of reducing the amount and degree of surgical intervention required at support hospitals. This reduction in surgical intervention can ultimately reduce the length of processing time in these hospitals and improve throughout, thus reducing further the required number of field hospital beds. Moreover, CT has an extremely high sensitivity to low-contrast foreign bodies such as plastic shrapnel and is likely to become indispensable for detection and localization of such non-metallic fragments. There is a critical need for a self-shielded mobile or transportable scanner.